Kentucky’s coming!

The Wildcats hit town Tuesday with a new coach, former A&M boss Billy Gillispie, and a three-game losing streak. Yep, three-game losing streak — North Carolina, Indiana and UAB. The Wildcats, now 4-4, also lost to Gardner Webb by 16 points earlier in the season.

But it’s still Kentucky (which is why the game’s on ESPN), and as usual the Wildcats have some talent. The best of the bunch is freshman Patrick Patterson, a 6-8 McDonald’s All-America who averages 16.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Joe Crawford, a 6-5 swingman, averages 17 points, and Ramel Bradley, a 6-2 guard, puts up 14.7 points and can hit from the arc (19 of 42, 45.2 percent).

The Cougars have some guys who can stroke it, too, with Fluff averaging 20.2 points, Dion Dowell 13.9 (along with 8.5 rebounds) and Brockeith Pane 12.5. No word yet on whether Marcus Cousin (stress fracture in his right foot) will be able to play.

The Wildcats’ biggest problem has been turnovers. The Wildcats average 17 per game, and over the last three they’ve averaged almost 19 and have given up 72 points off turnovers (24 per game). That’s a bunch.

Who’s showing up? If you don’t want to watch the 9-1 Cougars or the 4-4 Wildcats, then come and see Michael Young’s jersey retired. It’s about time they got around to getting that done. Wake me when they get around to Gary Phillips, Dwight Jones and Rob Williams.

Attendance? Score? And even though the Cats are .500, how important is this game to the Cougars’ season?

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Joe Curl update, again courtesy of his daughter, Angela:

“Dad is doing well. We got up this morning and went to church and then over to my grandma’s house for lunch. It was really nice and my dad felt pretty good the whole time we were out. He has been in a pretty good frame of mind lately, but I think sometime just feels a little “blah.” He is looking forward to seeing the doctor on Friday to see what he thinks on how he is doing.”